| Population is the fundamental premise for the survival and development of a society.The reasonable replacement of population concerns the future and destiny of a country and a nation.With the continuous development of human society,the life span of the population is increasing and the number of the elderly population is rising,while the fertility level is declining.The low birth and aging problem caused by that gradually spread from developed countries to developing countries.The total fertility rate in nearly half of the world has fallen below 2.1,which makes it impossible to achieve normal population replacement.The low birth and aging problem have brought about many adverse effects on social and economic development and become the population problem faced by many countries in the world.In recent years,Japan has been plagued by the population structure problem of low birth and aging.The proportion of the population aged 0-14 has been shrinking,while the proportion of the population aged over 65 has been rising rapidly.The total population has been declining for 11 consecutive years.Japanese society uses the term "low birth and aging" to describe this severe demographic problem.The low birth and aging problem in Japan is characterized by rapid development,deep degree and great influence,and will maintain a worsening trend in the long term.The Japanese government has constructed a relatively mature policy system to deal with the problem of low birth and aging by fiscal legislation,budget management,public debt,taxation,fiscal expenditure,public investment and other fiscal tools.Japan’s public policy for low birth and aging problem has a sound legal basis,wide coverage,flexible application,and achieved certain results.It has successfully reversed the declining trend of birth rate and provided high-quality life support for the elderly in Japan.However,there are still many problems.In recent years,China’s population problem has gradually emerged,labor costs are rising,and China’s economic growth has slowed down without the support of demographic dividend.In the past two years,with the implementation of the national tax and fee reduction policy and the rapid increase of pension and medical expenses,the pressure on China’s fiscal revenue and expenditure has increased sharply.Coupled with the rapid decline of the number of births,the population problem has aroused social concern.The government has tried to improve the birth rate through public policy such as loosening birth restrictions,reducing and exempting tuition fees for compulsory education,and fiscal and tax incentives for childcare industry,but the effect is not good.The current security system for the elderly also has problems such as double-track operation,large regional gap and insufficient security.Japan’s public policy is relatively mature,with the characteristics of legislation first,strict budget management,wide coverage,high debt dependence,various means of finance and taxation,and reasonable fiscal decentralization.China can learn from Japan’s policy,reflect on its lag,and learn from experience in fiscal legislation,budget management,policy implementation system,and policy efforts.Through the above analysis,this paper suggests that in order to better deal with the current population problem,China should perfect the construction of fiscal system and mechanism,expand the channels of raising fiscal funds,innovate the implementation of fiscal policies,and pay attention to the risk of fiscal operation. |
